This invention relates to operating room sterilization equipment and methods, and in particular to a mobile apparatus and method to sterilize surgical trays.
A variety of instruments and supplies are required during modern operations. These are typically stored and sterilized in covered trays. For example, an average knee replacement operation requires approximately twelve trays containing the instruments and supplies needed for this operation.
Current sterilization procedures involve the steps of washing the trays individually, loading instruments and supplies into the tray, and then wrapping each tray individually with a protective wrap, frequently a 54 inch×54 inch sterile blue wrap. If the tray has sharp corners or protuberances, these must be padded with a towel to avoid tearing the protective wrap. The loaded trays are then placed on a cart and the cart inserted into a sterilization autoclave.
Within the autoclave, the cart loaded with trays is generally sterilized at 276 degrees Fahrenheit for thirty minutes and then removed from the autoclave. The trays must then be allowed to dry for an additional fifteen minutes before handling.
The cart bearing the trays is then taken into the operating room. During the course of the operation, each tray is inspected and unwrapped as its contents are needed for the procedure being performed. Each tray bears a chemical indicator which reads the sterilization status of the tray. Each chemical indicator must also be inspected.
It takes in the vicinity of eight minutes to inspect each tray and its chemical indicator and to unwrap the tray. Sterile 54 inch×54 inch wraps cost approximately $3, so a cart bearing twelve trays requires $3×12=$36 in sterile wraps. In addition, the cost of twelve chemical indicators must be added to the sterilization costs for the cart.
If a wrap is found to be torn or breached, the contents of the tray it embraces must be considered non-sterile. In such an event, the autoclaving procedure must be repeated (which takes about 45 minutes) or, in the alternative, an emergency “flash autoclave” may be performed. A flash autoclave involves sterilizing the tray in an autoclave for about ten minutes. A flash autoclave is not as thorough a sterilization as the full procedure and carries greater risks. Therefore, when a sterile wrap is discovered to be torn or breached in the operating room while a procedure is underway, the surgeon is faced with the choice of waiting 45 minutes for a full autoclave sterilization or ordering a flash autoclave if such delay is unacceptable. Any delay is potentially damaging to the patient, because time spent under anesthesia is best minimized.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a mobile apparatus and method to sterilize surgical trays which does not require the use of protective wraps and which reduces the number of chemical indicators required. It would be additionally desirable to provide mobility to the apparatus to facilitate its introduction into an autoclave and to facilitate its transportation from the autoclave after sterilization to a storage area or the operating room.